Apparatus for distilling wood.



No. 741,157. PATENTED OCT. 1a, 1903. ,A. A. MoKE-THAN.

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING WOOD. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16. 1903.

N0 MODEL s SHEETS-SHEET 1.

awvontoz ms NORRIS PETER! cm, PHOTO-LUNG"WASHINGTON, a c

PATENTED OCT. 13, 1903.

. A. A. McKETHAN. APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING WOOD.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16. 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H0 MODEL.

TNE NORRIS PETERS co PNOYD-IJTHO WASHINGTON, u c.

No. 741,157. PATENTED OCT. 13, 1903.

A. A. MQKBTHAN. APPARATUS FOR DISTiLLING WOOD. APPLIUATION 11131) FEB. 16. 1903.

NO MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

mcmm o. c

Q 7 4 ,1 4 6 ANNE ,7

NITED STATES i a tentecl October 1a, 1903.

PATENT rricn.

ALFRED AUGUSTUS MCKETHAN, OF FAYET-TEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Fatent N 0. 741,157, dated October 13, 1903.

Application filed February 16 1903. Serial No. 143,537. (No model.) I

T at whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED AUGUSTUS Mo- KETHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fayetteville, in the county of Cumberland and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Distilling Wood; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdr'aw ings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This inventionrelates to an apparatus used in the distillation of wood for the purpose of obtaining tar, turpentine, and other products therefrom; and the object of the invention is to form an apparatus having a novel and advantageous arrangement of furnace and retorts conducive to economy of fuel and heat and rapid distillation.

A further object of the inventionis to produce a novel form of retort.

With these and other objects in view the invention is hereinafter described and isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section through one retort and both condensers. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the furnace and re. torts. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the furnace and retorts.

The apparatus includes a pair of retorts heated from a single furnace, a primary condenser to separate the creosote and heavy stud, and a secondary worm condenser for separating the lighter distillates from which the turpentine is extracted.

In the accompanying drawings, 6 indicates a furnace located between two circular ovens or heating-chambers 7. These ovens receive the gases of combustion from the furnace 6 through fines 6 ,which extend laterally from the rear end of the furnace. The heatingchambers also contain the retorts 8, which are of peculiar construction, in that they have a central vertical flue 9, connecting at the bottom with the radial fines 9*, formed in the brickwork which supports the retorts. This provides a circulation of the products of combustion from the furnace 6-throngh the fines 6*, around the retorts in the space 7, under the retort, through the lines 9, and up through the center fine 9 thereof. The lines 9 are continued above the brickwork and unite into a pipe 9 which enters the stack 10. Direct fines from each of the combustion-chambers 7 are indicated at 11 and join the stack 10. These fines may,if desired, be controlled by suitable dampers;

Charging-holes are indicated at 8 in the top of the retorts and bottom holes at 8 to withdraw the charcoal, the pipe at 8 to take off the tar and heavy liquids which will not vaporize, and a pipe at 8 for the gaseous products arising from the distillation. The pipe 8 leads to the first condenser,which consists of a closed vessel 12, immersed in a tub 13 of water. The vessel 12 has a partition 12 extending from the top about one halfway down within the vessel, and this partition serves as a baffle-plate to direct the gases down into, the lower part of the vessel Where the heavy oils condense and may be drawn off through a pipe 12 The extent of condensation is controlled by the depth of water in the tub, which may be regulated by overflow-cocks 13 in the sides thereof. A continuous supply of Water being provided in any suitable manner, the depth of the water may be regulated by opening and closing the cocks as desired, said cocks being at different levels. The creosote and heavy oils, which condense at a higher temperature than the lighter oils,are gathered in this condenser. The remainder of the gaseous distillatesis carried over through the pipe 14 into the worm 15, which is coiled in a tub 16 of water, wherein the turpentine-oil is condensed and from which it maybe drawn through the pipe 15. The non-condensed gases escape through the open pipe 17. The double condensation effected by this apparatus is advantageous in that it permits a separation of the oils and gives a'larger product. i

The arrangement of the furnace between the retorts and of the tines around and under the retorts conserves the heat to a great degree and effects the distillation in a comparatively short time and has other advantages of ease and cheapness of construction and operation. The central flue in the 'retorts allows the combustion-gases to go up through the middle of the retort, thereby exposing a greater area of heating-surface t0 the wood and avoiding the extreme heating of the retort which would otherwise be necessary to reach the wood at the center.

, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a distilling apparatus, in combination, a pair of heating-chambers standing side by side, a retort in each chamber spaced from the walls thereof and having a central vertical flue, radial fiues extending from said ALFRED AUGUSTUS MCKETHAN.

Witnesses:

A. S. HUSKE, N. MoA. DAVIS. 

